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Volkswagen's Eos convertible has a fascinating new design of folding hardtop that's unlike any other on the market. Fascinating because it has a conventional glass sunroof built into the folding roof. The sunroof can be operated while the car is moving, so the moment the impulse for extra fresh air strikes it's there for the asking without having to find somewhere to stop. And there are times and places when you don’t want the full convertible feel – the sliding sunroof is just perfect on those occasions.
Eos’ hardtop folds in two sections that are stacked one on top of the other when the roof is open. This makes not only for a shorter, more stylish rear end, because there's no need for a long roof to be folded under it, but also the two-part roof permits a greater open area within the car.
The only real drawback is that the complexity of the two-part roof means it's relatively slow in its operation. Perhaps to the extent there may not be time to pop it down or up at a red traffic light.
On the road test we were impressed with the refinement of the Eos with the roof closed, but found it noisier than expected with the top fully down, probably because of the large opening. There's also quite a bit of noise with the roof closed but the sunroof open, presumably caused by compromises necessitated by the folding roof. Then again, the sound of rushing wind is one of the great things about driving an open-top car.
There's virtually no scuttle shake, an impressive feature in a four-seater convertible. Volkswagen's engineers achieved this by designing the Eos as a separate model rather than modifying an existing body, gaining extra underbody strength while doing so.
There's good space in the front seats in legroom, width and headroom. The back seats can cope with adults if those in the front can spare a few notches forward on their seat adjustment. The back seat is a bit tight for headroom with the roof closed – though it has an infinite amount of room when it's open! The width of the back seat is restricted by space taken up by the side of the roof mechanism. Access to the rear isn’t all that easy. Nimble children will have no problems, but check with your no-longer-young friends if they're likely to be spending time back there.
When the roof is down there's a reasonable 205 litres of luggage space in the boot. To make the best possible use of that 205 litres, you can buy a matched pair of suitcases that fills up just about every cubic centimetre of it. With the roof up the Eos can cope with up to 380 litres of luggage, or about the same as a medium hatchback.
Interestingly, Volkswagen offers a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine in the Eos as part of its push towards these fuel efficient powerplants in Australia. With a peak of 320 Newton metres it has strong pulling power throughout most of its rev range.
A 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine is also on the price list. It puts out up to 280 Nm of torque. There's some turbo lag but it’s about average for its class of new-generation petrol engines and is only likely to irritate the most control-freak drivers.
 We must say that we really like the added refinement you get with a petrol engine and could probably live with the fact that it will typically use about 10 to 20 per cent more fuel than the diesel.
On the six-speed manual petrol model Eos we tested consumption could be as low as 7.0 litres per hundred kilometres on motorways and quiet country running. In the suburbs it would typically use about eight to ten litres per hundred.
Volkswagen's Eos coupe cabriolet is an attractive vehicle at a pretty good price. Its combination of practicality and passion will prove just right for those who love their cars and their driving. |
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